night fishing for barbel, is it really worth it.

[Neil Partridge]

last night i had my 3rd all nighter this season & to be fair i'm wondering why i bother. got all set & tidied ready by about 8(ish) & by 9 i had missed my first screamer of a run. by the time 12 oclock had gone i'd had 2 barbel, lost two to hook pulls & a snag & lots of interest shown. then it was as if someone had emptied the river. nothing...........bl**dy nothing......, untill about 1/2 three when a chub about 3lb turned up.
first light till 6 (when i'd had enough),not a twitch, i hadn't changed a thing on my one rod aprart from retackleing after loosing the lot on a big snag, but i did swap around a bit (baits hook lengths & rigs etc.) on my other rod that hadn,t moved all night anyway.
anyway i've decided now two or three hours into dark will do me from now on or should i just perservere with it in the knowledge that i have in the past had the odd fish well into the night. :confused:

 

[Rhys Perry]

I usually fish till I'm tired, like you say, it does tend to go quiet after the first couple of hours darkness. That said I have caught steadily all night before, also had some nice fish around dawn.

 

[Ramon San Juan]

I usually fish till I'm tired, like you say, it does tend to go quiet after the first couple of hours darkness. That said I have caught steadily all night before, also had some nice fish around dawn.

I second this... if I am far ish from home i will just sleep out anyway as I cycle to some swims.

 

[Andrew Boyne]

I've not fished an all night session for years now, but when i did my results were similar to others in that dusk and the first hour of darkness were productive though action soon slowed down as the night progressed. I now very rarely night fish at all, especially in the summer months, simply because i don't want to be out until gone 10pm waiting for darkness.

Darkness and Barbel go hand in hand for some anglers but i accepted that Barbel are not a nocturnal species. I realised that the reason my results were better during darkness, or heavily coloured water, was that the Barbel were less aware of my clumsy presentation. Once i had accepted this and took measures to refine my approach my results improved to the point where all my best catches, including most of my biggest fish, have come in daylight, with mid to late morning ( say 8am - 11am ) being the most productive times for me. The one exception being my PB which fell at 5:30pm, dusk, during febuary. Hardly middle of the night though!

 

[Jon Frisby]

Havent fished a night session yet, not even to dusk, but i truly believe that i would have caught less fish so far if i had have been night fishing.
Then again pressure does change a fishes eating habits.

 

[Jason McAdam]

I personally think it down to the stretch and the pressure on that stretch, i can only think of a few places that fish all night long!!

I tend to do night sessions but then hang the rods up and get some shut eye, no point packing away in the dark, driving home, waking the mrs up and having to put all the gear away without cleaning it down first.....works for me this way

 

[Justin Cubberley]

I was out on the Severn last night from around 9pm until 5am this morning. I had eight fish in total, the largest around 8lb and all the fish came before 2am. After that I couldnt buy a bite. Up until that point I thought I was going to have a good session but spent the last few hours thinking 'next fish and i'll pack up' and 'just this last cast!''

That said it was a lovely evening and no matter if or what the fish are doing there is still something magical about being outside next to some water at night.

 

[Graham Tremble]

night fishing

Hi Neil,
My catches improved dramatically when I started to fish later. I normally fish untill midnightish by which time I have normally had a couple ( if my local W/Avon has been generous ). My experience has shown me that if they are not having it by then I am probably flogging the proverbial 'dead horse'.
Of course if like me you value some peace and quiet then night fishing can provide the pleasure of a couple hours of stress free solitude which is normally missing in our busy lives,
Regards,
Graham.

 

[John Cook]

I love to be out on the bank so if i got the chance to night fish then i would, they probably all feed when ive gone home anyway

 

[Peter Littleworth]

I think the slow down in activity after the first few hours of darkness, is probably down to the fish spooking, try moving swims when it goes quiet. Not suitable if your bivvied up, but are you fishing or camping??????
peter

 

[John Walker]

Neil, some waters fish excellent of a night, others very little, and some about the same as daytimes, depends totally on venue mate, a short warning for others who dont nightfish is on rivers extra caution is needed on the banks especially if fishing on alone, not because of other guys but because of the dangers of falling in alone

 

[Paul Hiom]

There are one or two areas on the lower severn that seem to come to life at around 2am to 3am; i've had a few trips in the past where ive had a few doubles and some nice back up fish at this time in the morning. Some areas on the middle thames are similar; i have a mate who works nights and goes fishing after work between 2 or 3am till about 6 or 7am and he does very very well.

I think the saying is " never say never." Me personally, i can no longer be bothered with overnighters for barbel; i'd rather get home for midnight and get a half decent nights kip.

 

[Jeff Edisbury]

The Ribble used to fish at night but not sure if it still does?

The Avon (hants) generally fishes for a couple of hours after dark but would't bother with fishing all night.

I believe the Thames is a night time kind of place but that could be due to the boats?

Jeff

 

[Alex Gowney]

An interesting thread. I have often found midnight or thereabouts to be quite productive but haven't done too well in the early hours. This could, of course, be down to tiredness and not fishing well or not being bothered to move swims. If you want to do night sessions I think it's important not to arrive at the river too early as motivation to put in the effort can be affected.

 

[Paul Monaghan]

An interesting thread. I have often found midnight or thereabouts to be quite productive but haven't done too well in the early hours. This could, of course, be down to tiredness and not fishing well or not being bothered to move swims. If you want to do night sessions I think it's important not to arrive at the river too early as motivation to put in the effort can be affected.

Agree with Alex.
From my experiences parts of the Loddon doesn't usually switch on till after midnight, this is especially the case in the summer months. I guess the low population of barbel present get easily spooked, so over time have learnt that it's safer feeding late...very late. So arriving at dusk and staying late pays if it's not a school night.